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District Man Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Shooting High-Powered Rifle- Incident Took Place In Broad Daylight In Southeast Washington-

WASHINGTON –Nathaniel Carter, 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to five years in prison on charges stemming from a shooting that took place in broad daylight in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

Carter pled guilty in January 2013, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. Upon completion of his prison term, Carter will be placed on three years of supervised release.

According to the government’s evidence, the shooting took place at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 14, 2011, in an apartment community in the 3400 block of 13th Place SE. Carter fired six shots from a high-powered rifle at another man who tried to flee from the gunfire. The dispute stemmed from an alleged altercation that occurred between the two men in 2009. The men had largely avoided each other until a verbal altercation on the morning of the shooting. No one was injured by the gunfire, including numerous innocent bystanders who were in the area at the time of the shooting. At least one round pierced an apartment door, striking the steps inside.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), acting on information from the community, quickly located the firearm and other hidden evidence from the crime scene.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the detectives of MPD’s Seventh District who were involved in the arrest and investigation of this case, as well as the members of the community whose cooperation led to the successful prosecution of this case. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his appreciation to Paralegal Specialists D’Yvonne Key and Richard Cheatham and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mervin A. Bourne, Jr., who investigated and prosecuted the case.